JEFFERSON — Jefferson’s offense has gone through a metamorphosis since the beginning of the season.

The Dragons have moved from a pass-first philosophy to a run-now orientation built around diminutive sophomore Tristen Jackson.

“Toward the beginning of the season, we were passing a lot and I was catching a lot out of the backfield and blocking,” Jackson said. “But as the season went on, we were using the ground game more and I was getting more carries. When you get the ball in your hand, you get a lot more chances to make plays and help your team out.”

Jefferson (8-2) travels to Calhoun (10-0) for a first-round Class AA playoff game kicking off at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to the second round to face the winner between Brooks County and Tattnall County next week.

Although Jefferson goes into the playoffs as a No. 4 seed and faces a daunting task of traveling to the No. 2-ranked team in the state, Jackson likes his team’s position compared to last year when the Dragons failed to make the playoffs.

“This feels really good, just knowing you get an extra week of your season to play more football,” Jackson said. “Even though we’re a four seed, we still have a lot of confidence going into the game and we feel like we’ve got a really good chance at beating Calhoun.”

Jackson began the season as a fullback who didn’t get many carries as the Dragons emphasized passing by quarterback Bryant Shirreffs. But injuries and a need to help the defense forced changes in the backfield and Jackson emerged. Leading rusher Drequn Sewell took more snaps at safety, which opened some carries.

“About the fifth or sixth game of the season, we had to make some adjustments,” Jefferson coach T. McFerrin said. “We needed to shore up our defense and get some more speed on defense. Tristen was an undersized fullback and we didn’t want him blocking 240-pound linemen. So we moved a bigger fullback in there, Kamen Johnson and Kamen is about 215 (pounds). He got better and better as a blocker and we wound up with Tristen running a lot, and it’s worked out good. He’s done a good job for us.”

Jackson has 130 carries for 929 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He stands about 5-foot-7 and weighs 190 pounds, so he hits the hole like a bowling ball.

“He’s short, but he’s well put-together,” McFerrin said. “He doesn’t have the great speed, but he’s really smart and he runs the creases well. He’s really good at running with his eyes, making the right cuts. He’s really been good at making cuts and seeing the hole. He’s a tough runner and breaks a lot of tackles.”

Jackson goes through the hole with authority and his stocky build doesn’t give defenders many handles to grab. He has enough power to run through most arm tackles, so defenders have to square up to take him down.

“I’m not the fastest guy out there, so I try to break a lot of tackles and get away as fast as I can,” Jackson said. “I don’t want anybody to get me with an arm tackle. I usually run right through them. It feels really good to know somebody’s trying to bring you down, but you just keep on fighting for extra yardage. When you see it open, you feel like you just want to keep running.”

Jefferson will have its hands full with Calhoun, which has lost just two games the past three seasons.

“They are good, really good,” McFerrin said. “They’re not ranked No. 2 for nothing. We’re going to have to watch everything they do, I mean everything. They’re one of those teams that doesn’t have a weakness.”